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Before the Madurai Bench of Madras High Court
A. SELVAM & V.S. RAVI, JJ.
R. Manoharan & Another
Versus
State rep. by The Inspector of Police
Crl.A.(MD)Nos. 238 of 2014 & 240 of 2014
Decided on : 26-11-2014
Double Murder - Indian Penal Code - Section 302, Section 307, Section 109 - The court discussed the evidence and legal principles related to the involvement of the accused in a double murder case. It highlighted the importance of eyewitness testimonies, the admissibility of evidence, and the legal consequences of not mentioning an accused in the initial complaint.
Fact of the Case:
The accused challenged their convictions and sentences in a double murder case. The prosecution alleged that the accused, at the instigation of the second accused, indiscriminately attacked and murdered two individuals and attempted to murder two others using a knife.
Finding of the Court:
The trial court found both accused guilty of murder and attempted murder based on the evidence presented, including eyewitness testimonies and medical reports. The court rejected the arguments questioning the absence of the second accused's name in initial documents and the lack of explanation for the first accused's injuries.
Issues: The issues revolved around the admissibility of evidence, the credibility of eyewitness testimonies, and the legal significance of not mentioning an accused in the initial complaint.
Ratio Decidendi: The court emphasized the importance of eyewitness testimonies and the admissibility of evidence, highlighting that the absence of an accused's name in initial documents does not necessarily affect the case of the prosecution.
Final Decision: The court confirmed the convictions and sentences of the accused, dismissing their appeals.
A. Selvam, J.
1. The accused, alleged to have involved in a double murder case have challenged the convictions and sentences imposed against them in Sessions Case No.109 of 2005 by the District and Sessions Court, Tiruchirapalli by way of filing these Criminal Appeals.
2. The schema of the case of the prosecution is that on 03.03.2002 at about 08.30 pm the deceased Dharmalingam has demanded brandy on credit from Saravana wine shop which situates in Neithalur colony. The second accused has instigated the first accused to murder the said deceased Dharmalingam. The first accused has attacked on the person of the said deceased by using a knife and thereby caused fatal injuries. Likewise, at the instigation of the second accused, the first accused has also attacked one Thangavel by using the same knife and thereby caused fatal injuries and due to injuries sustained by them, the said Dharmalingam and Thangavel have passed away. During the course of occurrence, the first accused has attacked the persons namely Sakthivel S/o.Muthuveeran and another Sakthivel S/o.Kathan by using the very same knife with an intention to murder them. After occurrence, the defacto complainant by name Sakthivel S/o.Muthuveeran has been admitted in Seahorse hospital, Tiruchirapalli, wherein the Sub Inspector of Police by name Rajasekar (PW20) has recorded a statement from him and the same has been marked as Ex.P1. The statement given by PW1 has been registered in Crime No.87 of 2002.
3. On receipt of Ex.P1, the Inspector of Police (PW21) has done initial investigation and subsequent investigation has been done by PW22 and necessary arrangements have been made for conducting post-mortem on the dead bodies of Dharmalingam and Thangavel. The doctor by name Soundararajan (PW8) has conducted post-mortem on the dead body of deceased Thangavel and he found the following external and internal injuries. External injuries: A stab injury in the right side of abdomen placed obliquely 8 cm above the right iliac crest of size 8 x 2 x 12 cm. Internal organs small intestine, large intestine, piece of omentum are coming out of the injury.
Internal appearances: Abdomen uniformly distended. Heart pale wt.160 gms. Lungs pale. wt.right 475 gms left 450 gms. Hyoid bone intact. Stomach contains partially digested food wt.400 gms. Liver is punctured in the right lobe in the lower portion. Omentum is punctured in three places. Kidneys pale. wt.100 gms each. Small intestine is punctured in three places. Ascending colon punctured. Stools are in the abdominal cavity. Head and brain pale. wt.1200 gms.
4. The post-mortem report has been marked as Ex.P7. The doctor by name Karthikeyan (PW13) has conducted autopsy on the body of the deceased Dharmalingam and he found the following internal and external injuries:
Wounds: (1) A transverse incised wound 3 cm X 0.5 cm x bone deep on the left side of forehead, 1 cm above the medial third of left eyebrow.
(2) An incised wound 4 cm x 1cm x bone deep on the coronal plate on the left side of frontal region of the scalp, 8 cm above the medial third of left eyebrow.
(3) An oblique stab wound 5.5 cm x 3cm x deep to cavity on the side aspect of left side of chest, in the 9th intercostal space along the midaxillary line. The edges are clean cut. The upper outer end in curved and the lower front end in acute with a tailing to a length of 4cms, through which the mesentery and coils of intestine are coming out. Detection of fluid blood and clots are present in the peritoneal cavity. A tear on the body of the stomach near the lesser curvature, 3cm x 2cm cavity deep, through which gastric contents are coming out. Edges are irregular.
(4) A transverse incised wound 4cm x 1 cm x cavity deep on the back of right side of abdomen, at L3 vertebra level, close to the midline. O/E. The edges are clean out. The left end is curved and the right end is sharp. The blood vessels nerves and muscles are clean cut. The transverse process of L3 vertebra on
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